I love to drop in the odd pop culture reference in my messages and sermon titles. You may have noticed. So, a number of weeks ago when I looked at the lectionary scripture for today in preparation for the sermon, and I saw that it was Jesus’ final words to his disciples in Matthew’s Gospel, or as we call it, the Great Commission, I had to go with a Blues Brothers sermon title. If you are not familiar with it, The Blues Brothers is one of the funniest, and perhaps irreverent, movies ever made. In the movie, we find Jake and Elwood Blues flying through the streets of Chicago in a beat-up old police car, trying to put their old rhythm and blues band back together to raise enough money to save the orphanage that they grew up in. While that is going on, they constantly get in trouble and are on the run from numerous police departments, the Illinois Nazis, a country and western band and a mysterious woman who is intent on blowing them up. In fact, it seems all of Chicago is after them. At one point, while being chased by the cops, riding in the Bluesmobile listening to his brother Jake complain about their predicament, Elwood delivers one of the most memorable lines from the movie, “They’re not going to catch us. We’re on a mission from God.” Okay, so that was maybe the Scottish Blues Brother. It becomes his catch phrase throughout the movie whenever one of the old band members does not want to join, or they seem to have a problem, “We’re on a mission from God.” Despite being a pair of crooks, they believe it and are faithful to the mission even in the face of many obstacles...Read full sermon here (PDF)